1,600 Shares in Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) Acquired by Manatuck Hill Partners LLC

Manatuck Hill Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFM) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,600 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 55.0% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 20,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,633,000 after acquiring an additional 7,355 shares during the last quarter. Unified Investment Management bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,161,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN grew its position in Sprouts Farmers Market by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 181,364 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,046,000 after acquiring an additional 37,637 shares during the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank bought a new stake in Sprouts Farmers Market during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,517,000. Finally, Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Sprouts Farmers Market by 145.8% during the 4th quarter. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 20,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,585,000 after buying an additional 12,067 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SFM. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Sprouts Farmers Market from $160.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $131.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Sprouts Farmers Market from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $168.77.

Sprouts Farmers Market Price Performance

Sprouts Farmers Market stock opened at $171.66 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.65, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.87. Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.96 and a 1 year high of $178.99. The business has a 50-day moving average of $150.88 and a 200-day moving average of $145.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Sprouts Farmers Market (NASDAQ:SFM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.20 billion. Sprouts Farmers Market had a return on equity of 29.86% and a net margin of 4.93%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.12 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc. will post 4.29 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Sprouts Farmers Market

In related news, CEO Jack Sinclair sold 2,915 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.54, for a total value of $488,379.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 143,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,070,304.26. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Alisa Gmelich sold 445 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.42, for a total value of $61,151.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 4,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $609,595.12. This represents a 9.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 96,764 shares of company stock worth $13,562,649. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sprouts Farmers Market Profile

Sprouts Farmers Market, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the retailing of fresh, natural, and organic food products under the Sprouts brand in the United States. It offers perishable product categories, including fresh produce, meat and meat alternatives, seafood, deli, bakery, floral, and dairy and dairy alternatives; and non-perishable product categories, such as grocery, vitamins and supplements, bulk items, frozen foods, beer and wine, and natural health and body care.